Mom at Sixteen
by YoungWriterAtWork
Summary: Santana is only sixteen-years-old and still at school. However, with her mom's illness slowly getting worst, she has to take care of her and become the mom to her three younger siblings.
1. The School Run

**_1_**

**_The School Run_**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The loud sound of the alarm clock rang in Santana's ears as she woke up one morning. She rubbed the sleepy dust out of her chocolate brown eyes and blinked rapidly, whilst trying to read the time. 6:00am, on a Monday morning. Most of her friends would have still been asleep but unlike them, Santana had priorities other than herself.

The tired Latina swung her legs round so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed and yawned. She only had an hour to get ready herself until she had to wake the kids. The first thing she did was hop in the shower and make sure that her teeth were cleaned and brushed. Then she quickly changed into her Cheerio's uniform, applied her make-up and picked out her favourite jewellery to wear.

Breakfast wasn't much. There was never much to eat in their house so she usually had a quick bowl of cereal or a piece of fruit. Then she'd whip together some pancakes for the kids.

When 7:00 hit and she'd done everything including the kids lunches, she made her way into the bedroom next to hers. Her twelve year old brother was lying sound asleep on the bottom bunk, clutching his favourite teddy bear. It had been Santana's when she was a child and now it belonged to him. Her ten year old brother was on the top bunk, snoring softly to himself.

Santana smiled and turned on the main light. None of them stirred. "Boys," she giggled and walked over to the bunk beds, gently shaking the twelve year old. "Dennis," she whispered. "Dennie. Time for school. Come on Buddy."

"Okay," Dennis yawned and sat upright, rubbing his eyes. He was usually really good at getting up for school. He never complained and did everything that Santana told him.

"Do you know what you're going to wear?" Santana asked him and of course like always, he gave her a nod. "Good boy," he said and started climbing up the ladder to the top bunk. "Jacob." She gave him a shake and he whacked her away with his hand before laughing cheekily. "Jacob. Come on, we have school. Up you get," she ordered and jumped down from the ladder. "Dennis. Help your brother," she said before walking out of their bedroom.

The last person to get ready for school was Ariel. She was the youngest and Santana's only sister. She was only four and Santana loved her to pieces. She wasn't actually asleep though. Instead, she was sat on the pink rug of her bedroom playing with her dolls.

"Well, how long have you been awake?" Santana joked and kissed her on the cheek. "Did you have a good sleep Baby Girl?"

Ariel nodded, her black hair falling in front of her face. She didn't have red hair like the actual Disney character, Ariel, although she was named after her. She was named that because 'The Little Mermaid' was on TV the day she was born. It was a quick birth so Ariel was born into the living room with a midwife and Santana present. Santana was the only one there to help her mom and because she was quite young at the time, the midwife had put 'The Little Mermaid' on as a little distraction for her.

"Do you want me to give you a little bath this morning?" Santana offered. "Or would you like one tonight?"

"Tonight," Ariel said sweetly, as she continued to play.

"Okay but that's a promise," Santana said. "Whether you like it or not Missy. What do you want to wear today?"

"Princess dress!" Ariel squealed immediately and rang to her closet. She pulled out the Disney princess dress of Belle from Beauty and the Beast and smiled innocently up at her big sister. "Please. Mrs Morgan doesn't mind."

Mrs Morgan was Ariel's pre-school teacher. Ariel loved her and Santana was fond of her as well. She was aware of their home situation and what mattered more to Santana was that she didn't push.

"Well, you always look so gorgeous in it," Santana told her. "Come on, give me a twirl. I'll help you put it on."

"Can I go to school with you today?" Ariel asked, as Santana helped her change out of her pyjamas.

"I'm afraid not Munchkin," she said and slipped the dress onto to Ariel, buttoning it up at the back for her. "Wow, don't you look pretty?"

"Why can't I go to school with you?" She asked.

"Because Angel," Santana sighed heavily and started to gently brush out Ariel's curls with her hairbrush. "I have to go and learn big girl stuff and you have to learn little girl stuff. Don't you?" Ariel nodded solemnly. "But I'll pick you up later and then I was thinking that we could all go to the park. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" She cheered.

"I think you're all done here then," Santana said and placed the brush on Ariel's pink table. "We'll see if your brother's are ready and then we can go and get some breakfast. You just play in here for a bit, okay?"

Ariel was quite happy sitting in her bedroom and playing with her toys, whilst Santana sorted out Dennis and Jacob. Dennis was dressed already. Jacob was dressed but he'd decided to put all of his clothes on back to front.

"Jacob, you know how to dress yourself," Santana scolded as she slipped the t-shirt over his head, the right way round. "Come on. You're a big boy."

"I don't want to go to school," he grumbled, stomping his feet.

"Jacob. Stop being a baby," Santana told him. "You're ten. Come on, you're double figures now. Ariel's only four and she behaves a lot better than you do."

"I did try to get him dressed," Dennis put in, as he piled his homework into his backpack. "Sorry. He wouldn't listen."

"It's not your fault Dennis," Santana sighed, as she finished off with Jacob. "He needs to learn to listen to his brother."

"Stop picking on me!" Jacob shouted.

It took almost a good ten minutes to convince Jacob to go to school but eventually, Santana had all of her siblings sat at the table and was cooking them up a tasty pile of pancakes.

"They smell really good San," Dennis complimented her sister. Santana smiled thankfully at him and placed a pile of them onto his breakfast plate. "Thank you."

"Eat what you can Sweetie," Santana told Ariel and gave her a couple of pancakes before piling the rest onto Jacob's. The boys had an even amount at breakfast time but Ariel never ate much.

"Aren't you having any?" Jacob asked.

Santana shook her head and sat down at the table between him and Ariel. "I've already eaten," she said. "I have to get you lot ready for school and sort Mom out, don't I?"

"She screamed in the middle of the night," Jacob said as he pulled together his pancakes with his fingers. "It woke me up and scared me."

Santana sighed and ruffled his hair playfully. She'd had a bad night, waking up to her mother's screams. After about an hour and a half of fitting, Maribel had eventually gone back to sleep. Santana headed back to her own room but it was about 4:30 in the morning when she finally drifted off.

"You should have called me," Santana told her little brother.

"Dennis said not to disturb you," Jacob said quietly. "Because you would be tired yourself. It was okay. I played with my toy soldiers for a little bit."

"You're good kids," Santana said to them all. "Now, eat up or we'll be late for school. Come on."

Santana left them to finish off eating their breakfast with Dennis in charge and made her way upstairs to her mom's bedroom. Maribel was sound asleep in bed. She walked over and tucked her in before planting a kiss on her head. As she sat with her, just holding her hand, she heard a knock at the door.

It was Jenny.

"Hey Jenny," she greeted, when she answered the door.

"Hello Santana," Jenny said and gave her a hug. "Are you off to school Love?"

"Yeah." Santana nodded. "The kids are just finishing their breakfast and then we'll be off. Mom's asleep."

"Okay, thank you," Jenny said.

"Look after her, won't you?" Santana reminded her. "Call me if anything happens."

"Don't I always?" Jenny laughed and winked at the teenager. "Of course I will. Have a good day at school."

* * *

><p>Ariel was always dropped off first. She didn't mind pre-school. She loved the teacher, the different activities that they had set out and she had many friends there. Santana just wished that she could have had some round for a play date. It was never usually a good idea though because of their mom. When Ariel was settled, Santana walked Dennis and Jacob to their school before making her way to McKinley. Brittany and Quinn were at the school entrance, waiting patiently.<p>

"Made it with five minutes to spare," Quinn said, glancing at her watch before hugging Santana. "We didn't think that you were going to make it."

"Sorry," she apologised, before hugging Brittany as well. "School run."

"How are the kids?" Brittany asked. "Sarah misses Jacob."

Sarah was Brittany's nine year old sister. She and Jacob often hung out together as friends because they were close in age, but Brittany was convinced that Sarah had a little crush on him.

"Jacob's a little brat as usual," Santana said and shook her head. "No I'm joking. I love them all, every single one of them. I'm just tired. I've been up most of the night and then he refuses to go to school this morning. I got him there in the end."

"What are you looking for?" Quinn questioned, noticing that Santana was rummaging around in her backpack.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath and leant back against the brick wall. "I forgot my Spanish book. Mr Schue is going to kill me."

"He won't kill you," Quinn reassured her. "You know Spanish like the back of your hand. It is your first language after all."

"Besides, he knows what your home situation is like," Brittany pointed out. "Surely he has to let you off the hook, right?"

"He can't treat me differently to every other student though," Santana mentioned, as they began to walk into school and down the corridor. "Just because I have to put my mom and my siblings first."

"Well, maybe he'll forget," Quinn said. "We're having a new student today. He'll probably be more focused on her."

"Really?" Santana stopped dead in her tracks. "Who?"

"Someone called Rachel," Quinn told her and shrugged her shoulders. "That's what Mercedes told me anyway. I don't know where she heard it from."

"Well, let's hope she won't be weird like the last new kids," Santana laughed as the three of them made their way to English class. "Come on. I just want to get home."

"We've not even started first period yet," Quinn pointed out.

"I know," Santana sighed. "But I don't like leaving my mom. Jenny's with her but...Still...I get scared that something might happen. Let's just go."

"Are you going to be okay?" Brittany asked.

Santana nodded faintly and took Brittany's hand in hers. "I'll be fine B. I promise. Let's just get school over and done with."

**I hope you like it. Yes, I do still write some stories set at McKinley even though all of the characters have now moved on. Some of my work will be at school still but I will also write New York and future stories as well. I hope that you read my stuff and enjoy it :) **


	2. Trouble at Parties

**treecklove: Thank you. I'm so glad you like the story so far :)**

**Doodle91xxx: Yay! My best Fanfic pal, well my best pal altogether haha :) love seeing your reviews. Lots more to come :)**

**Julz19: Thanks so much and um...well, I hadn't decided to put any Faberry in. I'd usually make a note in the summary if there was going to be.**

**Guest: Thanks so much :)**

**musiqnilla18: Thank you, I will be continuing :)**

**Jade: What do you mean exactly? I haven't even written any mental health stories. **

_**2**_

**_Trouble at Parties_**

"Hold on tight Ariel!" Santana encouraged the youngster as the two of them scrambled up the tall, blue, climbing frame in the park. Ariel grunted and heaved herself up onto the bar that Santana was on, taking hold of her hand so she wouldn't fall. "Look how high up we are!"

"Look!" Ariel squealed and pointed to where Dennis and Jacob were. The two boys were taking it in turns, pushing each other on the roundabout. It was quite obvious to Santana that they were competing on who could spin the fastest and who would throw up first. "They're being silly. Aren't they San?"

"Yeah baby girl," Santana giggled. "They are."

Santana watched her brother's for a second, before noticing someone familiar walking towards the climbing frame. Ariel also noticed, as she began waving frantically. Santana grabbed her arm, scared that she'd topple straight off of the bar.

"Hey Quinn," Santana called down to her best friend. 'What are you doing here? Alone might I add?"

"Am I not allowed to take a walk in the park?" She giggled and stood with one hand on her hip. "No I needed to talk to you. I did send you a text but I thought I'd come and find you because it'll be quicker."

"What's up?" Santana asked, keeping hold of her little sister.

"Well, Rachel's dads are away tonight," Quinn said. "So she's kind of throwing this house party thing. I have a feeling that Puck forced her into it but it's still a party, right? Are you coming?"

"I have the kids," Santana said. "And what about Mom?"

"Well, couldn't you ask Jenny?" Quinn asked. "I know she has her set hours but she is your family support worker after all."

"I don't like to throw too much on her," Santana said. "She has a family of her own as well."

"Yeah but she has always said that she'd do anything," Quinn said. "You need to have some fun Santana. You're sixteen, you can't be the adult all the time."

"Is Jenny coming over?" Ariel asked Santana.

"Come on," Santana sighed.

She grabbed hold of Ariel in her arms and lifted her down to Quinn. Quinn took the little girl in her arms and gave her a kiss before letting her run over to Dennis and Jacob. Santana climbed down and walked over to Quinn with her arms crossed.

"They're such good kids," Quinn said, watching the three of them have their fun. "I take it you're not coming tonight then."

"Quinn, you...you don't understand," Santana whined, running her hands through her hair. "You don't have this problem. I can't just leave them to go to some party. It isn't right. What if something happens with Mom and I'm not there? Then what do I do?"

"Jenny will call you," Quinn reassured her. "You know that. You can't stay inside and look after them your whole life. I'm leaving in about an hour to go to the party so are you coming with me?"

"An hour?" Santana questioned and shook her head, lips pursed. "They haven't even done their homework yet, or had their dinner."

"And is Jenny not capable of doing all that stuff?" Quinn asked. "Come on San. It's just one night."

Santana hesitated for a while, glancing over at the kids. She sighed and twiddled her thumbs and then gave Quinn a nod. Quinn smiled happily and hugged her best friend.

"Great," she squealed with excitement. "It'll be fun. I promise you that it will be a night you'll never forget. I promise."

* * *

><p>"Truth or dare?"<p>

"Dare."

"I dare you to make a prank call to Becky Jackson."

Santana scoffed and shook her head at Finn. He seemed to find it funny and was cracking up laughing, in between sips of the alcohol that Rachel had provided them all, with Puck's help.

"Why would I do that?" Santana asked.

"Because it's a dare," Mercedes laughed and rolled her eyes, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Come on. Don't be a spoil sport."

"Yeah but...It's not very nice," Santana said and shrugged her shoulders. "And Becky has a disability. It's even worst."

"Fine," Finn gave in and sighed deeply. "Call Jacob then. It doesn't have to be Becky."

Santana shook her head. "I'm not prank calling anyone. I didn't even want to play this stupid game. It's childish."

"It's called having fun," Puck moaned. "Live a little for goodness sake. Honestly Santana, you can be so incredibly boring. You're sixteen, not twenty six. Now just do the stupid, fucking dare!"

"I just don't see the fun in prank calling someone!" Santana yelled back. "Especially someone who is disabled! It isn't funny!"

"It's called having fun Santana," Finn said. "And boy do you need it. Just let it go and have some fun."

"I'm not about to call Becky," Santana said. "It's not funny and I'm not going to call Jacob. I won't give him satisfaction so count me out."

"Just have some fun!" Puck repeated himself, raising his voice even louder.

"If one more person tells me to have some fun, I am going to scream," Santana shouted over the loud music that was playing constantly in the background.

"It's just been months since you actually had any fun or came to a party," Mercedes pointed out. "You're always looking after your siblings or looking after your mom and it's not fair on you. You're sixteen. You should be able to live your life to the full."

"And that's playing stupid games like this," Santana said. "And don't you dare bring the kids into this. I won't have it. I'm done, I'm going home."

"San, don't go," Quinn whined. "You don't have to play. Just sit out and watch."

"I'd rather not," Santana sighed as she began to slip her jacket on. "I'd rather just go home, shove a Disney film on and spend time watching it with them. At least I'll be having fun, right?"

"Do you want me to come with you?" Brittany offered kindly.

Santana shook her head and stood up with her bag. "You stay here B. Have a good evening guys. I guess I'll see you at school." She didn't even look back and just left the house alone, slamming the front door behind her.


End file.
